I've owned this truck for about 7 years. I bought it from a good friend for only $800! It had about 170k miles on it at the time. Now it has 186k. I've been using it as a dump runner and just when I needed a truck. A couple years ago we got a ton of snow and in one 2' storm I took the truck out for some fun. The snow couldn't stop her, but I failed to realize it was so deep it was packing up in front of the radiator and all under the engine. Essentially it created a cooler around the engine and it quickly overheated. This warped the head (or the block) and I started having issues with coolant leaking into the block and getting burned up. This year I decided to rebuild the truck and turn it into my daily driver. I got a rebuilt 22RE put in for $2300 and this really energized me to create the truck I've wanted for a while. I found a cap for the back for $250. I've always wanted one as I had no dry storage since it's a regular cab.


Then I put a new stereo in it and cleaned it up real good and decided it was time for paint...and new wheels and tires.


I went with a set of 15x8 matte black wheels and 31x10.50 firestone destinations. I think it looks awesome. I still need to swap out the chrome front bumper, grill, corner lights, and headlight surrounds. And I'm going to have a rack built for the cap that surrounds the pop-up in the middle and goes over the roof of the cab. I haven't really taken her off road yet so I'm not sure if I have enough clearance with these new tires. I'd rather not lift her as I like the look now, but will if I need to for functionality.

Thoughts? I'm hoping to get some good ideas from you guys as there are some awesome trucks on here. Plus I need some advice on good sources for things like door panel clips (missing a few of these) and some other little things here and there.

I'll try to keep this thread updated with new pics and stuff as I get them. Thanks for looking!

Lyle

 

Man, when I saw the first picture of your truck I was thinking that it was a really clean, nice straight little truck. Then I was surprised by the transformation! I really like the looks of the flat paint scheme, it really sets it off! What are your plans for it? Are you planning to lift it? Nice job.......Ed

 

Thanks Ed! I may lift it if I have too. I need to get in the mountains and see if I need the clearance.

 

So it looks like I will need to lift her! I did some LIGHT off roading the other day and got significant rub when turning. I was looking at Skyjacker system kits but they start at 4". That seems like a lot more lift than I want/need, but maybe not? Any advice?

 

Have any of you put a performance chip in your trucks? Any advice on brands, etc.? Or not to do it at all?!

 

lift it for fun, not for the fact you might need the clearance

 

i'm fairly sure it has little to no gain at all... if you're looking for more power swap a 3.4 in there

 

i actually like the way it looks better NOT lifted but i'm not ALL about form over function! not to mention the fact it's not really fun to spend more money!

I think I'm going to a 2" body lift only. I like the idea of increasing performance with a suspension lift, but I heard suspension lifts can cause a lot of issues with u-joints, etc. and end up being really pricey...plus 4" is too much for me aesthetically.

how easy is it to do a body lift yourself? i was thinking real easy until somebody told me i'd need to lower the radiator since it's attached to the body while the engine is attached to the frame (obviously!).

 

yeah i'm not going to mess with it...i'll just accept and live with the fact that i may not get there first, but i can get just about anywhere!

 

So I've done a bunch of research on here and elsewhere on lifting the truck. I can only get a 4" suspension lift. Nothing less. Do you guys think 31x10.50s on a 4" suspension lift would look too small? I like the way it looks on no lift, but I need some clearance. Part of me thinks just go with the 4" and upgrade to 33s down the road, but I just bought the set of Firestone Destination A/Ts that it's got now. It may be years before I need a new set. I can't find any pics online of this truck with 31x10.50s on a 4" lift.

 

You have 31s and you were rubbing? And yes, IMO it would look like you had money to lift it but then forgot how expensive tires are. . . From your picture it looks like you have plenty of clearance but like you said it was rubbing when wheeling. .

 

Since you like the look of it stock, and you already purchased the 31's why not just go with the body lift like you mentioned earlier, Plus body lifts are cheap!

 

dont do a body lift, thye raise your center of gravity and you dont gain ground clerence you just are able to run bigger tires, goes to wabfab and get a set of 2in ball joint spacers and add and leaf, just enough to clear your tires a little better, or beat the pinch welds off the fender, sick looking little truck!

 

You can fit 35s without a lift, but only if you're willing to hack up your fenders. See rattlewagon's build thread for proof. With a 4" lift you can fit 35s with some mild massaging.

I totally agree with Westjohn. If you want a mild lift, get some ball joint spacers and a set of lift shackles. There is a kit on eBay that has the BJ spacers, diff drop and sway bar drop for $80. That's what I just installed on mine and couldn't be happier.

Body lifts are poopy. In some cases, they cost almost the same as mild suspension lifts that yield the same amount of lift. To add to the downsides they already stated, body lifts increase stress on body mounts and they overall look cheesy since you get big gaps between the body and your bumpers.

BTW, I'm totally diggin' the flat black!

 

They raise your center of gravity? Yes, they do, but so do any lifts. In fact, suspension lifts raise you COG MORE than a BL considering its raises the frame, running gear, cab, everything else. You dont really gain ground clearance with a suspension lift, either. You gain clearance under the frame and such, yes, but you still have the front and rear axle/suspension hanging down.
They only raise it so you can fit bigger tires? Is that not the reason for a suspension lift, too? You gain actual ground clearance with larger diameter tires. a BL allows more room for tires without killing the geometry of the factory suspension. IFS stays intact longer at factory height. Suspension lifts put strain on the suspension components.
Some say BLs are dangerous. Thats only true if they are half-assed and/or installed incorrectly.

 

Increase stress on body mounts? What? They may if they are installed incorrectly.
Do suspension lifts not add stress to the suspension mounts? I do believe they do.
Gaps? WGAF? They make gap "covers". Or do what I did and just use some old rubber-backed carpet to make covers. They also make brackets for the bumpers. OR you can make them yourself!

I like working on my 4runner with a Body Lift. There is actually more room for certain things- bell-housing bolts, OIL FILTER, parking brake cable.

 

You dont necessarily need to lower the radiator. If your fan-shroud is two piece (upper and lower) just remove the lower section. Or, do what the PO did on my 4runner and trim the fan-shroud. Thats the only issue you will run into with the radiator. You may need to extend the steering shaft and/or the shifters. The PO of my 4Runner (who installed the BL) just reamed out the hole in the body that the steering shaft goes through and left the shifters in the same location. Reverse sometimes pops out, but thats it.

 

thanks guys! day-to-day the truck is fine on the 31s with no lift, but any off road turning while crossing gaps and i'm rubbing. not doing any damage to anything but the bolts holding the mud flaps on, but certainly leads me to believe i couldn't do much on bigger tires without some sort of lift. I think I will just get the WabFab BJ spacer and add-a-leaf kit. I think the 2" would look better than 4" too. And I could easily run 33s or 35s after that with some fender work.

I appreciate the compliments on the truck. I love it. I got the new grill, bumper, and light housings in black now too...looks great I think. Not trying to build a mall crawler that just looks good though. I really want to get this suspension/lift thing worked out so I can start hitting the trails harder.


I was looking at WabFabs bumper for my truck too...would that just bolt directly on the bumper I have or replace that one? Have any of you used this?
http://www.wabfab.org/Bumpers/Front-...ypage.tpl.html

Thanks again guys!

 

So my $2300 rebuilt motor has already ˟˟˟˟ the bed apparently! I put it in the shop because it was acting funny temp wise. Would go a little high, drop way down, high, low, like a teeter totter. And the heat only works sometimes too. Turns out it has a cracked head or something and is leaking coolant into the block and then when hot pushing oil into the coolant. Sweet. So the shop where it is wants $4900 to put a new 22RE in. Am I insane for even considering this? I love the truck and certainly don't want to lose it. I likely can't get one this clean and rust free for that, or if so I won't know what else could be wrong with it. Ugh. This just sucks. Any ideas for other options?!

 

That's insane! You can get a 22re with <50,000 on it on ebay for around 2,000. They are asking $2900 just for installation?!? Go somewhere else, look for a small town shop they will most likely do it better too! Sorry for your rotten luck!